I cut a new flying wing on the CNC yesterday put in the spars and started glassing it today. Well, thats not enough to do so I set up the machine and cut another wing! This one should turn some heads at SEFF.

Got another wild hair today and cut a new wing on my CNC. 44" span on this one. I got the wing halves joined and put some spars in it. Getting ready to glass it and then toss a Mega motor and 6S on it. Pictures and more info to follow later on.

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I woke up this morning and while having a cup of coffee with the wife an idea popped into my head. I needed to build a "Lazy Bee / Mud Duck" lookin plane today.

At about 10am I finally made it to the shop and got started. Using nothing but scraps, and a wing that I had cut with the CNC for another plane months ago, I built me a new plane!

Finished it at about 5pm and did the maiden. This thing is a hoot! It simply flies good. I cant believe how lucky I get when I build stuff like this. First shot and it flies like a dream. Looks cute as heck in the air too.

About 30 seconds into the maiden I handed the TX to my neighbor. He giggled like a school girl as he did hammer heads, loops and some funky inverted flipper doodle. Then he handed it off to our other buddy. After about 10 minutes of goofin off with it, they decided this is the best plane I have built yet. Im happy with it.

Im still undecided if if is going to get wheels, floats or just stay like it is. It does the coolest touch and goes and will take off from the ground with no problem.

Its over powered by a Hacker A22 and a 3S 2500 with an 11x3.8 prop. I thought it would need more for sure, but it will hang on the prop with this set up and balanced easier than any plane I've built.

I'll cut a bomb drop door in the bottom soon and put another servo on it to actuate it. I built it with a 6"x 6" square right on the CG just so I could make a drop door for it.

Probably need to add some color to it also. All in due time.

Laine.

EDIT: Got the wheels done this evening and painted them. Also, got rid of the rubber bands holding the wing on and added front pegs and rear wing bolts. Maybe tomorrow I'll get the painting done. The wife made stencils tonight.

EDIT: Painted the wheels tonight and put them on. Also added some cow spots to it. Still have to put the "face" on it and add a couple other little things.

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Finally got the Super Citabria just about complete. It was pretty close to a bare frame when I got it. Still needs a few more things done/touched up, but over-all its ready to go.

I took it out and flew it this afternoon. Not too shabby! It was pretty breezy, but Im happy with it. I could probably make a few "adjustments" to the power system as the current setup is overkill at its finest. 2300 watts on 12S 5000 might be a bit much. I'll probably drop it to 8S 5000s and up the prop to a 22" x 10. That should be good for 1500 watts and 11 minute flight times.

I like the look of the plane though. Only thing Im not sold on is the wheel pants. Looks like its wearing a pair of white shoes from the 50's. I think I need to add a bit more black to them.

I had a bad crash with the new 61" wing the other day. About 80 or 90 mph, roughly 20 feet, nailed full throttle (knowing the prop I had just put on was WAY too much for the setup), heard a loud POP and the plane dove... I had no control. It hit so hard, that more than 50 feet away we FELT the ground shake!

Everyone cringed since we just KNEW the plane was toast. Walked over to the crater in the ground and stood in awe. A couple cracks in the glassed nose (not even crumpled!), 5S 5000 lipo banana'd, ESC servo lead ripped off, and a broken prop. Thats it. We were all amazed. The hole in the ground was friggin huge!

FAST FORWARD TO TODAY...

I wanted to try my CC Vertigo 1800 kv outrunner on a plane. Put it on the wing, 4S 4400 Thunder Power lipo, a new CC ICE 100. After 2 hours on the phone with Joe Ford from Castle and testing props on this setup, the APC 7x5 prop won. 1800 watts, and 29000 rpm. Everything is cool and thrust is great. Speed isnt too shabby either.

I think this will be the permanent power system on this wing. It flys so smooth, handles great fast or slow and is just down right fun.

Time to cut a new one to make a speed demon out of. Cuz I need an adrenaline rush that Im just not getting with this BIG wing.

Anyway, here is a video with no editing done of the flight. A few fellas stopped in while I was flying and asked some questions, son and wife talking etc....

Anyone care to try and guess what Im workin on now? I got it as a beat up partially fabric/dope covered bare airframe that used to have a gas engine on it. Of course it will be 12S electric now and, as you can tell, recovered in Ultracote.

So far, the only thing done is the wing. I'll start working on the fuse and tail and hopefully have it all covered by the end of the weekend.

So, what is it?

Laine.

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Flew the wing today for the first time. I put it up on 4S 5000 for the first flight. This thing is SMOOOOOTH! Great flying plane! It was fairly quick even on 4S with a 6x4 prop. I would estimate the weight at about 6lbs or more RTF. It slows down to a crawl too and still just putts along. Really fun. Cant wait to wring it out with a different prop and some more voltage.

I really cant think of anything bad to say about it in the air. Its kinda tough to launch being a tractor motor and being pretty darn heavy. But, other than that, I think its ready for some more power!

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Finally sat down at my CNC and designed a new wing. Kinda funky lookin and a motor on the front. Not sure what it will be named yet although I have a couple ideas. Cant officially name it until it flys.

61" span, Castle Creations motor, Castle ICE 100, 5S Thunder Power 5000 mah lipo. Good for over 200mph pitch speed. Entire plane will be heavy. Maybe 6lbs or so. Lots of spars in it (its very strong already). I'll glass it all today.

More to follow.

Laine.

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I sold my 2007 Dodge 3500 diesel the other day and needed something to drive. So, I figured what the heck, why buy some new, computerized, recycled pop-can car. I prefer horsepower and the lines of a classic Mopar. Introducing my new daily driver and newest addition to my fleet of Mopars. My (and my wifes) 72 Plymouth Cuda.

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They asked me to build a booth for the post wide chili cookoff. So, needless to say, I ran with it.

They gave me a $150 budget and 4 days to get it done, I built this Mels drive in inspired, 50's style drive in, complete with sliding window, intercom ordering box, menu and 3 golf carts to drive the patrons through. I had 2 enlisted guys helping, plus the wife and kids jumped in and got dirty too.

Ended up getting 2nd place for "best chili" and we lost "best of show" for our booth by 1 stinkin point! 66 votes to 67 votes. Oh well, there is always next year!

We had a blast though!

Laine.

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I decided to go to a fun fly at Hodges tomorrow (23 SEP). So, after being in Alabama for what, 4 months or so now, I FINALLY cleaned out my trailer from the move from Tennessee. I then repacked it and Im ready to head out to Hodges Hobbies tomorrow. Lucky me, I get off work around 10 or 11 am and Im a whoppin 2 hours away from Americus, GA.

Should be a fun weekend with my oldest son Carson.

Oh, did I mention that pretty much anything in there is for sale? (Always is!)

Laine.

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I can not believe how much was done already when I pulled it out! Control horns mounted, control surfaces hinged, blind nuts installed for LG, cowl, canopy.... Wow! This thing is just too easy! Are all H9 planes this complete out of the box? It was a joy to assemble this thing.

Flying it, well, all I can say is its smooth, stable and fun! The flaps slow it down to a crawl, and full throttle with a 13x8 is pretty quick! Inverted is simple, hammerheads a breeze. Landing is a total non event.

Great plane to just cruise and relax.

So, here is my oldest son, Carson, and my new 61" Hangar 9 RV8 with a Cermark Neo outrunner on 6S thunder powers and of course, a Castle Ice ESC.

Decided to stop workin on my 1970 Challenger this weekend and have some fun. My brand spanky new Super Fly arrived in the mail on Friday from www.SuperFlyrc.com so I figured I'd build and fly it. Man I love these things! On a 3S 1300 lipo they are a HOOT!

I went with a simple paint job and a few LED's for night flying. Looks good and flys great just as you would expect!

I think I'll add just a few more lights to the top of it. I guess with my old age I cant keep up with a SF at night as well as I used to. Top and bottom look WAY to much alike in the dark. Simple fix for orientation, and then, look out Hodges Hobbies! Laines got a new "Night Bowling" plane!

SUPER FLYS ARE AWESOME! If you dont have one.... GET ONE! You WONT regret it! Trust me on this one.

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As most of you know, the last 10 years or so have been just a bit busy for me. Bear with me, and follow along.

It started with a move from Virginia to Kansas in Dec 02. The, 2 months later, off I went to Iraq for 15 months. After that, 7 months in Kansas, then another year in Iraq. Came back from Iraq, 30 days later moved to Alabama for a year and a half of INSANE schooling to become a Warrant Officer and UH-60 Blackhawk pilot. Then, a move to Tennessee. Arrived at Ft. Campbell, a few short months later, off to Bagram Afghanistan for a year. Back to TN for 14 months, then off to Kandahar, Afghanistan for another year. Came back from Kandahar, put the house up for sale, and moved to Alabama.

So, here we are. 10 years later. DONE with deployments!!! Working a good job, with good hours and good people. I FINALLY have time and just a little money, to work on my cars. So, 2 weeks ago I decided my 1970 Challenger (that has been sitting for 12 years) needed to be put on the road.

First step, buy all new brakes, ball joints, tie rod ends etc...

Next step, build new 400ish HP 360cid engine.

Whats next? put it all together and drive it!

Then, paint and body work.

Then, ENJOY the fruits of my labor.

Next up after the Challenger is my 69 Dodge Charger thats been sitting for 21 years... YES, 21 years!

Laine.

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My neighbor, Jay, owns a 1948 Champ and keeps it in a hangar next to his house. Well, as we all know, you need a runway to take off. So, it just so happens, that same runway is where Jay, and a bunch of other fellas also fly RC planes. Guess what Im doing this afternoon?

Last week I took the 1/4 scale Pitts out along with my 60" pattern plane and a couple foamies. This week, the 27% SBACH 342 comes out and the "Save the Ta Ta's" plane. These fellas are learning that electric power aint what it used to be.

Here are some pictures of my new flying field/full scale private airport. The pictures, obviously, are taken from where we fly. One is to the east, one to the west. Gotta love it.

Laine.

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Hey guys, got my net turned on yesterday. All moved into the new house in Bama. Even went accross the road to my neighbors house and did some flying a couple days ago on his full size runway. I think Im gonna like this place. Pictures of my "new field soon!